Snapshot

Gerald Finzi studied composition with Farrar in Harrogate and Bairstow in York, and counterpoint with RO Morris * Deaths of father, three older brothers and teacher introduced theme of the fragility and transience of existence explored in many later works * Early musical influences include Parry, Elgar and Vaughan Williams, and song composers such as Ivor Gurney * Moved to London in 1926 where he befriended Ferguson and Rubbra and met Vaughan Williams, Holst and Bliss* Early successes included the Thomas Hardy cycles A Young Man's Exhortation and Earth and Air and Rain, which established him as a masterly and sensitive setter of poetry - his oeuvre extends to over 100 songs for soloist or choir * Although many works point to his skill as a miniaturist, after World War II he embraced larger forms including Clarinet Concerto, For St Cecilia and Intimations of Immortality* Works are lyrical, subtly understated, often elegiac in tone, mingling human pain and natural beauty * One of most popular of 20th century British composers, in concert and on disc